Thursday, January 19, 2017

Resident Frank Farance shares these photos and reports on the free basketball program offered on Saturday's by the Roosevelt Islands Youth Program (RIYP) at PS/IS 217. According to Mr. Farance:

Parents,

At the recent Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Children, Youth, and Education committee meeting, some parents said they were unaware of some of the offerings for their children. I am compiling a list and, as I see things come by, I will pass them along (we're trying to get something more formalized ready, but you'll have missed the opportunities by then).

If you don't know coach Tommy, you should: he is fantastic, he really has a knack with kids and teaching the fundamentals,

and he gives a lot of individual attention.

My daughter learned how to properly throw a baseball, and shoot a hoop (she'd bet a cheeseburger she could do it, and then double down with two in a row). My son learned much coordination/movement and feels comfortable playing a pick-up game with friends.

The photos, from the 5 and 6 year-old classes, show Coach Tommy teaching the kids several kinds of passes (with thumbs down follow through),

how to dribble,

a fake or two, and how to run backwards (an important coordination skill).

Parents can help with coaching, such as parent Ben shows how to fake and shoot. The instruction ends with the coach explaining some of the finer points, and then a Hands In!

A steadily growing number of congressional Democrats are refusing to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration, sending a message of resistance at the outset of Trump’s presidency. It’s less clear, however, what exactly that message is, and whether it will do the Democratic Party much good as it attempts to find its way in the Trump era.

The high-profile protest was galvanized by the president-elect’s rebuke of civil rights icon John Lewis as “all talk” and no action” over the weekend after the Georgia congressman said he does not view Trump “as a legitimate president” and did not plan to attend Trump’s inauguration. At the latest count, more than 60 Democrats in Congress have now announced they will not show up. Painting a bleak picture of what the country now faces, some Democrats warn that the incoming Trump administration could fundamentally erode American democracy....

Carolyn Maloney attending DJT's inauguration. Her reason for attending sounds more like opportunism than of "respect for the office and America's tradition of peaceful transfers of power,"... DJT himself has no respect for American traditions. I will no longer support Ms. Maloney.

Along with President Obama, Secretary Clinton, the entire United States Senate and the Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives, I am attending the inauguration out of respect for our country's peaceful transition of power. However, more than ever, I am resolved to stand up to any attack from Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans on women's rights, the Affordable Care Act, our social safety net, our civil liberties, and more. That is why the day after the inauguration, I will be attending the women's protest march in New York City and I will be there every step of the way going forward to vigorously defend our progressive values.

We the undersigned Representatives from the State of New York, write to you today to convey the disastrous consequences repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would have on your home state. We implore you to consider both the economic and social impacts of repeal on the businesses and families of New York.

There is no doubt that repeal of the ACA would significantly impact the working families in the state, while providing a tax cut to wealthy New Yorkers. Repeal would cause over 2.7 million New Yorkers to lose health insurance coverage, including more than 218,000 in your home borough of Manhattan alone. Beyond people directly covered through the New York state insurance exchange, repeal would have devastating consequences to our entire health care system. Repeal means that all families could once again be subject to annual and lifetime limits and could be denied care for a pre-existing condition. Because repeal would reopen the prescription drug donut hole, seniors across the state would face higher prescription drug costs of $1,195 annually.

Additionally, repeal will cause a $24 billion budget shortfall for hospitals across New York state. Rural hospitals, in particular, would be under enormous financial pressure and could have to close their doors, leaving many in these areas without access to care. From Manhattan to Massena, New Yorkers reject this starkly ideological plan to repeal the ACA that would throw our entire health care system into disarray and not solve the real problems that families face.

While we acknowledge that the Affordable Care Act is not perfect, we will not stand idly by as you inflict a great wound on the people of New York we are sworn to represent and protect. We implore you to stop playing politics with the lives of our constituents and stop efforts to repeal this life-saving law.

Please be advised that on Wednesday and Thursday, January 18th and 19th, 2017 from7AM - 11 PM, the following area has been permitted for a film shoot: Main St from 500 Main St (Blackwell turn around) to 510 Main St (Roosevelt Landings bldg) and East seawall from 504 - 560 Main St. Also, various locations inside of 516 and 556 Main St (Roosevelt Landings bldgs).

There will be “No Parking, No Stopping and No Standing” in front of 501 - 513 Main St on Wed., January 18th, 2017 from 5AM to 5PM.

The film shoot will include various foreign prop cars / emergency vehicles utilizing emergency lights and foreign street signage. There will also be the use of prop weapons with minimal air soft noises.

During this time, expect intermittent traffic delays and increased pedestrian traffic in the area.

The Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department (RIPSD) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Movie Unit will be present during this film shoot to facilitate vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Please join us for SENIOR LAW DAY on Thursday, January 19th! We will have 19 resource organizations here to discuss their resources from 10am-1pm and a workshop on Legal/Financial Planning with Robert Freedman from 1-2pm. RSVP for the workshop by emailing me. Refreshments will be served – we look forward to seeing you!

Philip Smallwood
The Art of White Space
January 17th 2017 to February 11th 2017
Opening Reception January 18th
6pm to 8pm
Paul Calendrillo New York Gallery
507 Main St. New York, NY 10044

Paul Calendrillo New York proudly presents the first gallery showing of Philip Smallwood's abstracts in the Sumi-e style of Zen painting. The art and technique of this Japanese Ink Painting is summarized the parable below:

A Chinese painter was once commissioned to paint the Emperor's favorite goat. The artist asked for the goat, that he might study it. After two years, the emperor, growing impatient, asked for the return of the goat; the artists obliged.

Then the Emperor asked about the painting. The artist confessed he had not yet made one, and taking an ink brush he drew eight nonchalant strokes, creating the most perfect goat in the annals of Chinese painting.

The ZEN artists believe that great economy of means is necessary to express the purity and simplicity of the eternal nature of the subject. Zen Art does not try to create the illusion of reality. It abandons true-life perspective, and works with artificial space relations that make one think beyond reality into the essence of reality. This concept of essence as opposed to illusion is basic ZEN Art in all phases.

Smallwood integrates this philosophy and technique with his incomparable skill as a watercolorist. Breaking with tradition, he abandons the horsehair brush and ink traditionally used in this work and crafts his own brushes and works in vivid watercolor. Smallwood uses great sensitivity when working in this medium without any preconceived visual content and has only one attempt to get things right. He begins with one stroke, and like Kandinsky, tunes in on every other stroke without contemplation. The length and intensity of every line are what matters. Images come from the freedom. They are born in the moment through the kinetic energy applied by the brush. Smallwood knows if it is right only after he views it.

The title of this exhibition, The Art of White Space, derives its name from the positive nature of the white space that gives birth and purpose to each line. White space is an equal player, much like in Taoist philosophy where perfection is at our first breath. The lotus petal and the art of Sumi-e serve as the backdrops for his unique approach to the genre.

Influenced by his older brother, Fredrick Smallwood, the artist developed a keen interest in visual art that developed into a second career. This artistic journey has taken him and his works across the country and abroad. Mr. Smallwood is the consummate observer, who uses his talents to give a resonance and reason to subjects and places that would normally be ignored. These images are rendered with a dignity and grace that is usually reserved for the upper echelons of society. Smallwood is the recipient of numerous accolades and awards from the most distinguished art societies and organizations nationally and internationally.

Any updates on Trellis status? As we enter 2017, it's at least two years - maybe more - since the restaurant closed for renovations. The build-out is now complete - even the tables and chairs are in place. If there is a problem with obtaining needed City permits, red tape can't be untangled - maybe Council Member Kallos could help Kai negotiate the permit process/City bureaucracy? Just a thought..

...An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal.

Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured?

Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in it's application. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest....

Politcio has an excellent article on the last years of Dr. King's life.

... the man who helped spearhead a movement that had pressed successfully for laws integrating schools, public accommodations and voting booths was ready to take the struggle north, where, as he put it, “the moral force of SCLC’s nonviolent movement philosophy was needed to help eradicate a vicious system which seeks to further colonize thousands of Negroes within a slum environment.”...

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Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.

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